Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “forced oscillation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

A simple method for designing structural models with closely spaced modes of vibration

A simple method for designing a mathematical model with closely spaced vibration modes is described. The design process begins with a reference model having specified geometry, continuous inertia and stiffness distributions, and degrees of freedom, all of which remain unchanged. Two natural frequencies of this model are then forced together by means of systematic perturbation of the model's discrete inertia and stiffness parameters. There is only one eigenvalue solution per design cycle, and the gradient vector is calculated directly from the resulting modal quantities. The minimization procedure employed is unconstrained. As applications, a cantilevered plane grid model with five degrees of freedom and a bending-torsion-oscillator with eleven degrees of freedom are treated.

Hallauer, W. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A study of thin liquid sheet flows

This study was a theoretical and experimental investigation of thin liquid sheet flows in vacuum. A sheet flow created by a narrow slit of width, W, coalesces to a point at a distance, L, as a result of surface tension forces acting at the sheet edges. As the flow coalesces, the fluid accumulates in the sheet edges. The observed triangular shape of the sheet agrees with the calculated triangular result. Experimental results for L/W as a function of Weber number, We, agree with the calculated result, L/W = the sq. root of 8We. The edge cross sectional shape is found to oscillate from elliptic to 'cigar' like to 'peanut' like and then back to elliptic in the flow direction. A theoretical one-dimensional model was developed that yielded only elliptic solutions for the edge cross section. At the points where the elliptic shapes occur, there is agreement between theory and experiment.

Chubb, Donald L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Global Gravity Wave Variances from Aura MLS: Characteristics and Interpretation

The gravity wave (GW)-resolving capabilities of 118-GHz saturated thermal radiances acquired throughout the stratosphere by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite are investigated and initial results presented. Because the saturated (optically thick) radiances resolve GW perturbations from a given altitude at different horizontal locations, variances are evaluated at 12 pressure altitudes between 21 and 51 km using the 40 saturated radiances found at the bottom of each limb scan. Forward modeling simulations show that these variances are controlled mostly by GWs with vertical wavelengths z 5 km and horizontal along-track wavelengths of y 100-200 km. The tilted cigar-shaped three-dimensional weighting functions yield highly selective responses to GWs of high intrinsic frequency that propagate toward the instrument. The latter property is used to infer the net meridional component of GW propagation by differencing the variances acquired from ascending (A) and descending (D) orbits. Because of improved vertical resolution and sensitivity, Aura MLS GW variances are 5?8 times larger than those from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) MLS. Like UARS MLS variances, monthly-mean Aura MLS variances in January and July 2005 are enhanced when local background wind speeds are large, due largely to GW visibility effects. Zonal asymmetries in variance maps reveal enhanced GW activity at high latitudes due to forcing by flow over major mountain ranges and at tropical and subtropical latitudes due to enhanced deep convective generation as inferred from contemporaneous MLS cloud-ice data. At 21-28-km altitude (heights not measured by the UARS MLS), GW variance in the tropics is systematically enhanced and shows clear variations with the phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation, in general agreement with GW temperature variances derived from radiosonde, rocketsonde, and limb-scan vertical profiles.

MLS (MICROWAVE LIMB SOUNDER)↗
NASA NTRS2013

Megadroughts in Southwestern North America in ECHO-G Millennial Simulations and Their Comparison to Proxy Drought Reconstructions

Simulated hydroclimate variability in millennium-length forced transient and control simulations from the ECHAM and the global Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation (ECHO-G) coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) is analyzed and compared to 1000 years of reconstructed Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) variability from the North American Drought Atlas (NADA). The ability of the model to simulate megadroughts in the North American southwest is evaluated. (NASW: 25deg42.5degN, 125deg-105degW). Megadroughts in the ECHO-G AOGCM are found to be similar in duration and magnitude to those estimated from the NADA. The droughts in the forced simulation are not, however, temporally synchronous with those in the paleoclimate record, nor are there significant differences between the drought features simulated in the forced and control runs. These results indicate that model-simulated megadroughts can result from internal variability of the modeled climate system rather than as a response to changes in exogenous forcings. Although the ECHO-G AOGCM is capable of simulating megadroughts through persistent La Nina-like conditions in the tropical Pacific, other mechanisms can produce similarly extreme NASW moisture anomalies in the model. In particular, the lack of low-frequency coherence between NASW soil moisture and simulated modes of climate variability like the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Pacific decadal oscillation, and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation during identified drought periods suggests that stochastic atmospheric variability can contribute significantly to the occurrence of simulated megadroughts in the NASW. These findings indicate that either an expanded paradigm is needed to understand multidecadal hydroclimate variability in the NASW or AOGCMs may incorrectly simulate the strength and/or dynamics of the connection between NASW hydroclimate variability and the tropical Pacific.

variability↗
NASA NTRS1975

Analysis of Skylab IV fluid mechanic science demonstration

Several science demonstrations performed on Skylab III and IV were concerned with the behavior of fluid drops free floating in microgravity. These demonstrations, with large liquid drops, included the oscillation, rotation, impact and coalescence, and air injection into the drops. Rayleigh's analysis of the oscillation of spherical drops of a liquid predicts accurately the effect of size and surface tension on the frequency of vibrated water globules in the Skylab demonstration. However, damping occurred much faster than predicted by Lamb's or Scriven's analyses of the damping time for spherical drops. The impact demonstrations indicated that a minimum velocity is necessary to overcome surface forces and effect a coalescence, but a precise criterion for the coalescence of liquids in low g could not be determined.

Klett, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Suppression of dynamic stall with a leading-edge slat on a VR-7 airfoil

The VR-7 airfoil was experimentally studied with and without a leading-edge slat at fixed angles of attack from 0 deg to 30 deg at Re = 200,000 and for unsteady pitching motions described by alpha equals alpha(sub m) + 10 deg(sin(wt)). The models were two dimensional, and the test was performed in a water tunnel at Ames Research Center. The unsteady conditions ranged over Re equals 100,000 to 250,000, k equals 0.001 to 0.2, and alpha(sub m) = 10 deg to 20 deg. Unsteady lift, drag, and pitching-moment measurements were obtained along with fluorescent-dye flow visualizations. The addition of the slat was found to delay the static-drag and static-moment stall by about 5 degrees and to eliminate completely the development of a dynamic-stall vortex during unsteady motions that reached angles as high as 25 degrees. In all of the unsteady cases studied, the slat caused a significant reduction in the force and moment hysteresis amplitudes. The reduced frequency was found to have the greatest effect on the results, whereas the Reynolds number had little effect on the behavior of either the basic or the slatted airfoil. The slat caused a slight drag penalty at low angles of attack, but generally increased the lift/drag ratio when averaged over the full cycle of oscillation.

Mcalister, K. W.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Experimental Evaluation of Analytical Models for the Inertias and Natural Frequencies of Fuel Sloshing in Circular Cylindrical Tanks

A correlation is presented of experimental measurement and analytical prediction of free, planar oscillations of a tank of mercury hung on a pendulum. Measured frequencies are presented for the slosh mode and the pendulum-tank mode, and time-history wave forms are included for qualitative comparisons. The sloshing is represented analytically by a single pendulum or a spring-bob, and the size and location of their inertias are determined by matching forces and moments on the tank surface with linearized hydrodynamic theory for inviscid fluids. It is concluded that such analytical models are identical for small displacements in the present application (as they are in simpler applications) and that they provide excellent simulation of the stiffness and in ertia terms for fuel sloshing.

Warner, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Interannual Variability of Boreal Summer Rainfall in the Equatorial Atlantic

Tropical Atlantic rainfall patterns and variation during boreal summer [June-July-August (JJA)] are quantified by means of a 28-year (1979-2006) monthly precipitation dataset from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Rainfall variability during boreal spring [March-April-May (MAM)] is also examined for comparison in that the most intense interannual variability is usually observed during this season. Comparable variabilities in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) strength and the basin-mean rainfall are found during both seasons. Interannual variations in the ITCZ's latitudinal location during JJA however are generally negligible, in contrasting to intense year-to-year fluctuations during MAM. Sea surface temperature (SST) oscillations along the equatorial region (usually called the Atlantic Nino events) and in the tropical north Atlantic (TNA) are shown to be the two major local factors modulating the tropical Atlantic climate during both seasons. During MAM, both SST modes tend to contribute to the formation of an evident interhemispheric SST gradient, thus inducing anomalous shifting of the ITCZ and then forcing a dipolar structure of rainfall anomalies across the equator primarily in the western basin. During JJA the impacts however are primarily on the ITCZ strength likely due to negligible changes in the ITCZ latitudinal location. The Atlantic Nino reaches its peak in JJA, while much weaker SST anomalies appear north of the equator in JJA than in MAM, showing decaying of the interhemispheric SST mode. SST anomalies in the tropical central-eastern Pacific (the El Nino events) have a strong impact on tropical Atlantic including both the tropical north Atlantic and the equatorial-southern Atlantic. However, anomalous warming in the tropical north Atlantic following positive SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific disappears during JJA because of seasonal changes in the large-scale circulation cutting off the ENSO influence passing through the mid-latitudes. Hence the anomalies associated with the tropical Pacific during JJA are forced through an anomalous Walker circulation primarily working on the western basin, and likely a lagged oceanic response in the equatorial region.

Gu, Guojun↗
NASA NTRS2014

Pan-Continental Droughts in North America over the Last Millennium

Regional droughts are common in North America, but pan-continental droughts extending across multiple regions, including the 2012 event, are rare relative to single-region events. Here, the tree-ring-derived North American Drought Atlas is used to investigate drought variability in four regions over the last millennium, focusing on pan-continental droughts. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the central plains (CP), Southwest (SW), and Southeast (SE) regions experienced drier conditions and increased occurrence of droughts and the Northwest (NW) experienced several extended pluvials. Enhanced MCA aridity in the SW and CP manifested as multidecadal megadroughts. Notably, megadroughts in these regions differed in their timing and persistence, suggesting that they represent regional events influenced by local dynamics rather than a unified, continental-scale phenomena. There is no trend in pan-continental drought occurrence, defined as synchronous droughts in three or more regions. SW, CP, and SE (SW+CP+SE) droughts are the most common, occurring in 12 percent of all years and peaking in prevalence during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; patterns involving three other regions occur in about 8 percent of years. Positive values of the Southern Oscillation index (La Nina conditions) are linked to SW, CP, and SE (SW+CP+SE) droughts and SW, CP, and NW (SW+CP+NW) droughts, whereas CP, NW, and SE (CP+NW+SE) droughts are associated with positive values of the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. While relatively rare, pan-continental droughts are present in the paleo record and are linked to defined modes of climate variability, implying the potential for seasonal predictability. Assuming stable drought teleconnections, these events will remain an important feature of future North American hydroclimate, possibly increasing in their severity in step with other expected hydroclimate responses to increased greenhouse gas forcing.

anomalies↗
NASA NTRS2016

An Assessment of Multimodel Simulations for the Variability of Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclones and Its Association with ENSO

An assessment of simulations of the interannual variability of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) and its association with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), as well as a subsequent diagnosis for possible causes of model biases generated from simulated large-scale climate conditions, are documented in the paper. The model experiments are carried out by the Hurricane Work Group under the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Research Program (CLIVAR) using five global climate models (GCMs) with a total of 16 ensemble members forced by the observed sea surface temperature and spanning the 28-yr period from 1982 to 2009. The results show GISS and GFDL model ensemble means best simulate the interannual variability of TCs, and the multimodel ensemble mean (MME) follows. Also, the MME has the closest climate mean annual number of WNP TCs and the smallest root-mean-square error to the observation. Most GCMs can simulate the interannual variability of WNP TCs well, with stronger TC activities during two types of El Niño-namely, eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Niño-and weaker activity during La Niña. However, none of the models capture the differences in TC activity between EP and CP El Niño as are shown in observations. The inability of models to distinguish the differences in TC activities between the two types of El Niño events may be due to the bias of the models in response to the shift of tropical heating associated with CP El Niño.

climate models↗
NASA NTRS1985

Hgi2 Sub 2 Crystal Growth for Nuclear Detectors

The objectives of this program are to obtain a benchmark quality sample grown at low-g conditions and to study vapor growth phenomena under space conditions. Ground-based crystals show a defect structure which impairs their performance as nuclear radiation detectors. These defects may be caused by the gravitational force acting on the crystal in its weakended state at the elevated growth temperature and by irregular convection patterns in the vapor during growth. Mechanical strength measurements have been performed (uniaxial compression tests) which show that the crystals exhibit slip parallel to the c-planes at stresses as low as 1/2 psi. Preliminary calculations using a simple linearized model indicate the oscillating instabilities in the convection part of the vapor transport system are unlikely, even at 1-g, provided that the utmost care is taken in the preparation of the crystal growth source material.

Schnepple, W. F.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Experiments on annular liquid jet instability and on the formation of liquid shells

An annular jet flow of liquid surrounding a flow of gas at its core is extremely unstable. Experiments are described in which such a flow is generated by an annular nozzle operated at fairly specific conditions. It is shown that periodic, axisymmetric oscillations arise spontaneously within the cylindrical sheet emerging from the nozzle and grow with such rapidity along the axial dimension that a sealing-off and encapsulation of the core gas occurs within a few jet diameters. This is closely followed by a pinchoff of the liquid between adjacent bubbles. The liquid shells set free thereby assume spherically symmetric form under capillary forces, and each contains a precisely uniform measure of gas and of liquid on account of the extremely high frequency-stability of the process. Description is given of the fluid dynamic processes by which the shells are formed, and mention is made of exploiting the instability for the production of rigid shells for technological applications.

Kendall, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Fluid System Angular Momentum and Moment Fluctuations Driven by Gravity Gradient or Gravity Jitter in Microgravity

The dynamical behaviour of fluids affected by the asymmetric gravity gradient acceleration and gravity jitter acceleration, in particular the effect of surface tension on partially-filled rotating fluids with special example applicable to a full-scale Gravity Probe-B Spacecraft dewar tank have been investigated. Results of slosh wave excitation along liquid-vapor interface induced by gravity gradient acceleration indicated that one-up one-down and one-down one-up oscillations of two bubbles in the cross-section of doughnut profiles in the vertical r-z plane of rotating dewar, and an eccentric contour of bubble rotating around the axis of dewar in horizontal r-Theta plane. Results of slosh wave excitation along liquid-vapor interface induced by gravity jitter acceleration indicated equivalent to time-dependent oscillatory forces which push bubble in the combined bubble motion of down-and-up and leftward-and-rightward as the bubble is rotating with respect to rotating dewar axis. Fluctuations of angular momentum, fluid moment and bubble mass center caused by slosh wave excitations driven by gravity gradient acceleration or gravity jitter acceleration are also investigated.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1958

The Effects of Longitudinal Control-System Dynamics on Pilot Opinion and Response Characteristics as Determined from Flight Tests and from Ground Simulator Studies

The results of a fixed-base simulator study of the effects of variable longitudinal control-system dynamics on pilot opinion are presented and compared with flight-test data. The control-system variables considered in this investigation included stick force per g, time constant, and dead-band, or stabilizer breakout force. In general, the fairly good correlation between flight and simulator results for two pilots demonstrates the validity of fixed-base simulator studies which are designed to complement and supplement flight studies and serve as a guide in control-system preliminary design. However, in the investigation of certain problem areas (e.g., sensitive control-system configurations associated with pilot- induced oscillations in flight), fixed-base simulator results did not predict the occurrence of an instability, although the pilots noted the system was extremely sensitive and unsatisfactory. If it is desired to predict pilot-induced-oscillation tendencies, tests in moving-base simulators may be required. It was found possible to represent the human pilot by a linear pilot analog for the tracking task assumed in the present study. The criterion used to adjust the pilot analog was the root-mean-square tracking error of one of the human pilots on the fixed-base simulator. Matching the tracking error of the pilot analog to that of the human pilot gave an approximation to the variation of human-pilot behavior over a range of control-system dynamics. Results of the pilot-analog study indicated that both for optimized control-system dynamics (for poor airplane dynamics) and for a region of good airplane dynamics, the pilot response characteristics are approximately the same.

Sadoff, Melvin↗
NASA NTRS1967

Flight Test of 31.2 Diameter Modified Ringsail Parachute Deployed at Mach 1.39, Dynamic Pressure 11 Pounds per Square Foot

A 31.2-foot (9.51 meter) nominal diameter (reference area 764 ft(exp 2) (71.0 m(exp 2)) ringsail parachute modified to provide 15-percent geometric porosity was flight tested while attached to a 201-pound mass (91.2 kilogram) instrumented payload as part of the rocket launch portion of the NASA Planetary Entry Parachute Program (PEPP). The parachute deployment was initiated by the firing of a mortar at a Mach number of 1.39 and a dynamic pressure of 11.0 lb/ft(exp 2) (527 newtons/m(exp 2)) at an altitude of 122,500 feet (37.3 kilometers). The parachute deployed to suspension-line stretch (snatch force) in 0.35 second, and 0.12 second later the drag force increase associated with parachute inflation began. The parachute inflated in 0.24 second to the full-open condition for a total elapsed opening time of 0.71 second. The maximum opening load of 3970 pounds (17,700 newtons) came at the time the parachute was just fully opened. During the deceleration period, the parachute exhibited an average drag coefficient of 0.52 and oscillations of the parachute canopy were less than 5 degrees. During the steady-state terminal descent portion of the test period, the average effective drag coefficient (based on vertical descent velocity) was 0.52.

TESTS↗
NASA NTRS2023

Nonlinear Fast Magnetosonic Waves in Solar Prominence Pillars

We investigate the properties of nonlinear fast magnetosonic (NFM) waves in a solar prominence, motivated by recent high-resolution and high-cadence Hinode/SOT observations of small-scale oscillations in a prominence pillar. As an example, we analyze the details of the 2012 February 14 Hinode/SOT observations of quasi-periodic propagating features consistent with NFM waves, imaged in emission in Ca II and in the far blue wing of Hα. We perform wavelet analysis and find oscillations in the 1-3 min period range. Guided by these observations, we model the NFM waves with a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (3D MHD) model, extending previous 2.5D MHD studies. The new model includes the structure of the high-density, low-temperature material of the prominence pillar embedded in the hot corona, in both potential and non-force-free sheared magnetic field configurations. The nonlinear model demonstrates the effects of mode coupling and the propagating density compressions associated with linear and NFM waves. The guided fast magnetosonic waves, together with density compressions and currents, are reproduced in the 3D pillar structure. We demonstrate or the first time the dynamic effects of the Lorentz force due to the magnetic shear in the non-force-free field on the pillar structure and on the propagation of the waves. The insights gained from the 3D MHD modeling are useful for improving coronal seismology of prominence structures that exhibit fast MHD wave activity.

Leon Ofman↗
DOE OSTI2023

The QBO–MJO Connection: A Possible Role for the SST and ENSO

We examine the hypothesis that the observed connection between the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and the strength of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is modulated by the sea surface temperature (SST)—for example, by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A composite analysis shows that, globally, La Niña SSTs are remarkably similar to those that occur during the easterly phase of the QBO. A maximum covariance analysis suggests that MJO power and SST are strongly linked on both the ENSO time scale and the QBO time scale. We analyze simulations with a modified configuration of version 2 of the Community Earth System Model, with a high top and fine vertical resolution. The model is able to simulate ENSO, the QBO, and the MJO. The ocean-coupled version of the model simulates the QBO, ENSO, and MJO, but does not simulate the observed QBO–MJO connection. When driven with prescribed observed SST anomalies based on composites for QBO east and QBO west (QBOE and QBOW), however, the same atmospheric model produces a modest enhancement of MJO power during QBOE relative to QBOW, as observed. We explore the possibility that the SST anomalies are forced by the QBO itself. Indeed, composite Hovmöller diagrams based on observations show the propagation of QBO zonal wind anomalies all the way from the upper stratosphere to the surface. Also, subsurface ocean temperature composites reveal a similarity between the western Pacific and Indian Ocean subsurface signal between La Niña and QBOE.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Geometric Volume of Fluid-Based Multiphase Flow Solver Extension to the Reacting Flow Solver, PeleLM

A new algorithm is presented to simulate multiphase flows with surface tension in a pathway for spray combustion simulation. The algorithm combines capabilities from two open-source packages, including the interface reconstruction library (IRL), a library of computational geometry routines to enable the volume of fluid (VOF) method, and PeleLM, a solver for the reacting Navier-Stokes equations. Additionally, surface tension is implemented using the continuum surface force (CSF) model with an improved height function technique in the volume fraction field. Spurious errors in volume fraction arising from our combined strategy are corrected through a topology-based method that improves both numerical stability and accuracy. Multiple validation simulations are conducted, including (i) translations and rotations of Zalesak's disk, (ii) a stationary circular droplet with surface tension, (iii) an oscillating elliptical droplet, and (iv) three-dimensional deformation of a spherical droplet. Results indicate that the combined scheme retains the favorable properties of each of the component algorithms.

42 ENGINEERING↗